Product Description

An elusive new project from composer Alan Palomo (VEGA). Neon Indian delivers equal parts synthetic nostalgia, dream-pop lullabies, and grinding guitar noise to create something eerier than the sum of its parts. Forged after a hazy winter gathering in Texas, this initial batch of tracks were the result of field recordings, record samples, and a collection of bizarre synth sounds. Soliciting the visual acrobatics of video artist Alicia Scardetta, this project is setting out to be a multimedia maelstrom. Orbiting around the themes of drug induced heartbreak, weary afternoons, and lost chances, this music provides a lush soundtrack to the deadbeat exploits of teenage ennui. They've been compared to New Order and Future Bible Heroes.

Track Listing

1. (Am)
2. Deadbeat Summer
3. Laughing Gas
4. Terminally Chill
5. (If I Knew, I'd Tell You)
6. 6669 (I Don't Know If You Know)
7. Should Have Taken Acid with You
8. Mind, Drips
9. Psychic Chasms
10. Local Joke
11. Ephemeral Artery
12. 7000 (Reprise)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #663 in Music
• Released on: 2009-10-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .18 pounds

Review
The project really finds its groove, nailing perfectly the essence of woozily nostalgic synth-pop. --Pitchfork

Review
One of the most promising releases of the year. --Obscure Sound

Customer Reviews

Should have been longer, but....
This debut from the young Neon Indian is superb. I don't usually write reviews about dance/electronic music so I may not have the vocabulary to do this album's sound justice. However, I will say that it has a real low-fi sound. It sounds as if once he created the full song he ran the whole thing through some kind of filter that took out all the clean and polished sound. I've heard the sound described as sounding like it was created in the 80's or 70's (I'm talking about the sound of the songs not the actual music). It's really a unique sound. One song in particular really sounds like it was created in 1981 using a cheap synthesizer and a drum machine - "Mind, Drips." There are so many good songs here, making the album extremely easy to listen to all the way through. I'd say there isn't a weak song on here. Every song is danceable and has catchy hooks, fantastically simple beats, and a real "chill" vibe to it, making it perfect for parties or driving trips. Even though I stress that every song is good, there are a few standouts for me. Those are: "Local Joke", "(If I Knew I'd Tell You)", "6669 (I don't know if you know)", "Should Have Taken Acid With You", and the title track. My favorite right now is "Local Joke", but that will probably change with each listen. I'd say this sounds like a more electronic, danceable, less Brit-pop influenced MGMT. I'd say if you took the beats of the Bee-gees, the singing of MGMT, and the hooks and melodies of early New Order and the more chill Daft Punk you'd have Neon Indian. I hope that's right. It's the best I could do.

4.5 stars... very promising debut
Neon Indian is the duo consisting of Alan Palomo and Alicia Cardetta, at one point high school classmates. Neon Indian started posting songs on the internet earlier this year, and immediately created a huge buzz (probably in part because the identity of the band members was initialy kept a secret). Now comes the debut release of Neon Indian. If you wonder about their musical style, think mostly instrumental, but definitely danceable, synth-grooves. Band that come to mind are Ghostland Observatory (minus the electric guitar), New Order and Telex (from the early 80s).

"Psychic Chasms" (12 tracks; 31 min.) kicks off with a short "(AM)" intro, only then to blast into "Deadbeat Summer", perhaps the most conventional track on here (and with full lyrics). After a short and silly "Laughing Gas" instrumental, we then dive into "Terminally Chill", one of those tracks that made so much indie-buzz, and rightfully so. "(If I Knew I'd Tell You") is another short intermezzo (reminding me so much of that groundbreaking band Telex back in the day), leading us into "6669 (I Don't Know If You Know)", a great track. "Should've Taken Acid With You", also a buzz-creating track, is actually one of the weaker tracks on here for me. The next 4 tracks, though, are all one better than the other: "Minds, Drips", the title track, "Local Joke" (my favorite track on here) and "Ephemeral Artery" are in total the heart of the album, and just superb. "7000 (Reprise)" is a short instrumental to close out the album.

In all, I can't emphasize enough how impressed I am with this release (sure to land high on my "end of the year" best albums list), and I can't wait to hear more from Neon Indian. I had the great fortune of catching Neon Indian live at their first gig ever, in September at the Monolith music festival (at the Red Rocks, near Denver), in front of a PACKED audience. Looked like the band was a bit nervous at the beginning, but soon enough the grooves took over and they put on a fantastic set. Finally, if you wonder where you can hear this band, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll), the internet-only station that brings the best indie-music in the country, bar none, and where this release has been in heavy rotation since its release last month.

Each track is better than the last
The buzz first started on these two mysterious figures comprising Neon Indian earlier this year. It's not hard to figure out why they caused a stir - their sound is immediately striking for how far it pushes the lo-fi angle. One blogger charmingly described it as "a cassette mixtape left to bake in a Celica for 25 years." What's so amazing is that it doesn't feel gimicky at all. It just comes off as an incredibly arresting sound that I honestly don't think could work any other way. The absolute standouts are "Deadbeat Summer" and my favorite, "6669 (I don't know if you know)". Most of the tracks are pretty chill, and this is the kind of stuff you bob your head to, instead of full-on convulsions expressed on the dance floor (or front seat of a car). With one exception. The last track, "7000 (Reprise)" knocks it up quite a bit, and I can't help but rock with the increased intensity of the music. Hopefully Neon Indian will bust out more of this or that with future work.